24-hr Pork Shoulder, faint meat smell emanating from bath

Anova Precision® Cooker
1

Hi guys,

I’m wondering if my experience here is normal of if I need to be concerned. I’m doing a 24-hr cook of 2 7lbs pieces of pork shoulder, about 2/3 through as I type. I can smell a faint meat odor coming from the water bath. I sealed both pieces with a vacmaster chamber sealer and I the water in the bath looks, to the naked eye, clean (I have a clear tub so it’s easy to look at it from multiple angles). Should I be concerned?

Thanks in advance for any thoughts!

2

Remove the bag from the water and see if it has a leak. The short time out of the bath will have no impact on the overall cook.

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3

i noticed something similar whilst sving some brisket for 36 hours. i had triple sealed each end, and i could smell a faint peppery smell, and suspected the bag or seals might be compromised. turned out not to be. likely was just from the parts of the bag that had touched the food as it was being put in the bag, on the outside of the seal.

as john.jcb wisely suggests, best to check it out, and it wont cause an issue.

4

Thanks for the fast responses guys! The bags and seals look fine - my current theory is that there might be some microscopic hole in one of the bags large enough to let a tiny bit of steam out but not large enough to leak any liquid in/out, and that’s what I’m smelling, though the contaminated exterior of the bag is a solid possibility too.

In any case I’m back to being fairly confident they’re going to be fine!

Thanks again!

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5

It’s probably pores in the plastic letting out aromas from the meat into the water. Even the multi-layered plastics used in the very best vacuum bags are not totally impervious when viewed at a microscopic level. And odorant molecules are very tiny indeed.

6

This has been my experience too.

Make a batch of garlic confeit and you’ll see, or smell.